Learning to Love
by gryffindork.2007
Summary: We all know James had a tough time of it trying to get Lily to go out with him... but what exactly happened to get our favorite couple together? Follow Lily and James as they learn to love each other. CHAPTER 10 UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the world in which I'm writing this story, I just own the plot. **

**Chapter 1**

**"Back off, Potter."**

**"I'm not touching you, Evans! Just for one hour! I'll go wherever you want to! I promise you!"**

**"Well I promise you a 'NO' every time you even try and ask me out, Potter. Leave me alone." With a huff, Lily Evans Turned around and continued to talk to her friend in a conversation which had been interrupted by a certain boy's pleas for a date with her. "Ugh, Nat, why do I even pay attention to him? He is so ANNOYING! And so damn persistent, I've said no on every date he's asked me out on since 3 rd year!" The red-haired 7th year straightened the Prefect badge on the front of her robes.**

**"Oh come on, Lils, he's one of the best looking and most popular guys in the whole year, forget that, the whole SCHOOL even, and he wants YOU! Take advantage of it, don't complain!" said Natalie. With waist length raven black hair and classical features; Natalie was easily one of the most beautiful girls in the whole Gryffindor house. She had a fair share of admirers, but was amazed that the fabulous James Potter had such a desire for Lily and that Lily didn't cave in. "You two are soul mates! He's gorgeous, amazingly smart, and caring, just like you! He loves you, and you know that you like him back!" **

**Lily shot her best friend an icy glare. _Really, you can be so exasperating sometimes, _she thought. "Caring? Don't make me laugh. He's a mean, arrogant, bully, that's what he is." **

**A few yards behind Lily, James Potter sighed. _What'll it take me to get her to like me? _He thought. The bespectacled boy had long held a crush for the beautiful redhead, but was always rejected. "She's going to like me this year… this is my year…"**

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**"Where the hell is Prongs?" asked a handsome, tall, muscular boy. Shaking his long black hair out of his eyes, he turned to a boy next to him. "Wormtail, have you seen him anywhere?" **

**The small, mousy boy shook his head and craned his neck farther to search. **

**Sirius shook his hair out of his eyes again and said to nobody in particular, "If he doesn't show up in the next… 2 minutes, I'm getting on the train without him." **

**"I think I see him… yup, that's him!" exclaimed a tall, gangly, boy. **

**"You sure, Moony?" asked Peter skeptically.**

**Sirius took one look at the spot that Remus had pointed to and said, "Of course he's sure, Wormy! Look around him! Be observant, for gods sake!" **

**"I don't see any- oh. That's Prongs, all right."**

**"I swear," said Sirius wearily, "Evans isn't pretty enough to stare at to risk missing your train, but we're looking at the king of fools, so…" **

**Sure enough, James was standing with a glazed look right behind the beautiful redhead. **

**"Well, what are we waiting for, lets go snap him out of it!" said Remus. "Hey Prongsy Boy, you wanna get onto the train now or what?" he yelled. **

**James continued to stare at Lily.**

**Sirius muttered "Come on, somebody hex him before he notices…" and started to wrestle Remus's wand from him. **

**Remus tugged his wand away from Sirius. "Are you crazy? We'll get detention on our 1 st day back!"**

**"Who cares? For the Marauders, that's normal, innit? Anyways… " Sirius strode over to James and gave him a hard shove in the back. **

**"HEY!" James yelled, startled. **

**Lily turned around and gave James a look of disgust before walking away to the Head Girl's carriage. **

**"Damn. Sirius, what is WRONG with you? Finally get a chance to look at Evans, and you just got to be there to ruin it, don't you?" **

**"Thank you." Sirius gave James one of the sweetest smiles he could manage without bursting into laughter, and then said, "Hey, know who Head Boy is?" **

**"No, who?" said James with a look of utter curiosity on his face. The Marauders were well known for the prank that they pulled on the Heads of Hogwarts each year. Last year they had charmed the Head Boy's pants to fall down whenever he looked at a girl. **

**"I dunno, I'm asking you, aren't I?"**

**"How the hell would I know? If the Head Boy is Moony, then I need the password for the Head's Dorms." **

**"Why?"**

**"Why? Cause Evans is Head Girl, that's why! She and the Head Boy get to share a dorm!" **

**"Doofus, didn't you read the Hogwarts letter? They said that Dumbledore's gonna announce the Heads at the feast; there's no possible way you could know that Evans is Head Girl already!" **

**"You're right, I don't, but you know that its gonna be her anyway, don't you?" **

**"Good point…"**

**"Hey, you guys, you hafta hurry of we wont get good seats on the train!" yelled Remus from the other side of the platform, where he was talking to some 1 st year girls and telling them where to board the train. **

**Both Sirius and James ran over to Remus with their trunks and got ready to board the train, Peter huffing and wheezing behind them, trying to catch up. **

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**"Hi, Chelsea!"**

**"Lils! Nat! Hey, how are you two?!"**

**"Great, how've you been, Chels?" Lily smiled at her second closest friend in the world. Apart from Natalie, nobody was as good a listener as Chelsea. **

**"I've been fantastic. Spent my whole summer getting tanned in France; how're you, Nat?" **

**"Oh, I'm fine, I hung out at home most of the summer… how's Mike?" **

**Chelsea smiled. Her blond hair and tanned skin made her look beautiful in an unusual sort of way, but she was oblivious to opinions on her looks and wouldn't care even if her skin turned blue and her hair turned pink. Her older brother, Mike, was one year older than her and had graduated from Hogwarts the previous year. "Mike's good, he just got a chance to play for the Chudley Cannons, did you hear?" **

**"No! Oh, wow, that's so great! He must be pretty excited!" said Natalie. **

**"So, did I miss anything important? I know I got here kind of late, sorry…" Chelsea grimaced. "I woke up late today…" **

**"No, not much… oh, unless you count me getting ambushed by that idiot, Potter, for the millionth time." Lily sighed exasperatedly. "And yes, for the millionth time, I said NO, Chels, so don't even TRY to get me to change my mind, because I won't." **

**"I still think you should give him a shot, Lils, he might change…" **

**"Yeah? Well call me when he does, and then I'll think about it."**

**"Fine. Have it your way. You're missing out on a great guy, Lils -" started Natalie. **

**"Oh, shut up, Nat. You just want me to hook up with James so I can tell him to set you up with Black. What do you see in Sirius, anyway?" **

**"I DO NOT!!!! Sure, I like Black, but -"**

**"Save it, Nat. Sure, you like Black just as a friend. We get it." Chelsea said with a exasperated look on her face. "Just admit it, okay? It is painfully obvious." The look on her face changed when she saw the shiny badge on Lily's chest. "Still a Prefect, Lils? I was sure that you would be made Head Girl! Don't tell me that BELLATRIX got Head Girl – HOW she even got to be Prefect, I don't know." **

**"Oh, I dunno, Chels. They're starting something new this year, Dumbledore's announcing the new Heads at the feast today; I still have a chance… but if Black makes it and I don't – we have a problem." **

**"A chance? A CHANCE? Lily, don't be silly… you are definitely going to make it!!!!" said Natalie with an incredulous look on her face. **

**"Hope so…"**

**A/N. My 1st fic. Should i continue? R+R PLEASE!!!!!!!! It'll mean a lot! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the world in which I'm writing this story, I just own the plot. **

**Lily and her friends sat in their compartment, chatting about their summer vacations and the year coming up for them, as it would be their last. **

**"So, Lils, up for the challenge of N.E.W.T. lessons this year????" asked Chelsea. "You do know that it's going to be way harder than last year." **

**"I do, but I'm still confident that I'll do fine…"**

**"Yeah, you'll probably be top of the year again…"**

**"Hey, I wouldn't count on that, you know? Rumor has it that James Potter got the same results in his classes during last year's exams – you never know, you might be up for some competition this year!" stated Natalie matter-of-factly. **

**Inwardly, Lily grimaced – she knew that the rumor was true. She forced a smile. "Oh, please," Lily scoffed. "Don't start – I'll leave him standing in the dust this year with my grades." **

**The girls started to laugh when the compartment door slid open and in strode – **

**"What's so funny, babes?" said Sirius Black in a sultry voice. The girls stopped laughing and gave Sirius disgusted looks, all except for Natalie. A dreamy look passed over her face and she moved over to give Sirius space to sit down next to her, ignoring the horrified looks and head shakings that the other two girls were giving her. **

**"How was your summer, Sirius?" she asked.**

**"Oh, all right, went out with six different girls," Sirius said nonchalantly, not noticing that Natalie's face dropped slightly. "You?" **

**Before Natalie could answer, the compartment door slid open again and in popped Remus Lupin, the only marauder that Lily liked for his friendly attitude and kind heart. He was the only marauder that didn't try and charm a girl for every breath he took in his lifetime (apart from Peter, of course). He gave the girls an apologetic look before saying, "Padfoot, I don't think that playboys of your type are welcome here in the girl's compartment, so why don't you come back to where you belong, huh?" **

**Lily didn't hesitate to take this as an open opportunity to stand up, pull Sirius out of his seat, and push him out the door. **

**"Watch it, Lily, I'm watching you for James, and I don't think that he would have approved of that kind of behavior – don't want to risk your Head Girl position," said Sirius with an amused tone in his voice. He shook his finger at her before Remus pushed him away and told Lily, "He's not. Oh, hey Natalie, hey Chelsea! How's Mike, Chels?? I didn't see you on the platform today." **

**"Oh – oh, he – he's fine. Got ac – accepted by the Cannons…" Chelsea turned red and looked away, embarrassed that she had started to stutter in front of her best friend. **

**Remus looked puzzled for a moment before turning to Lily and saying, "We'll make sure Sirius doesn't bother you guys again – right, Sirius?" **

**"Yes, Mother," said Sirius to Remus in an annoyed tone.**

**Lily nodded appreciatively and sat back down, but not before telling Remus, "I hope you get the Head Boy badge – you certainly deserve it." **

**He smiled at her and said "Same to you – see you later – Sirius, get back into our compartment!!!!" **

**He smiled at all the girls on last time and walked out of their compartment, pushing Sirius in front of him. Lily and Natalie smiled back and waited till he had disappeared before turning to Chelsea and exclaiming, "Chels, can you be ANY more obvious???" **

**Sure enough, Chelsea was blushing hard and her face had turned red when Remus came in. Though not nearly as handsome as Sirius or James, Remus was a good looking boy and had grown very tall and had cut his hair neatly for the first time in ages. Lily was sure from the moment that she had seen him that he would have many new admirers this year. It didn't help that he and Chelsea had become good friends in their second year and that Chelsea had developed a strong crush for the boy. She was afraid that he didn't like her back and that telling him would ruin their strong friendship. **

**"What?? He's HOT!! Have you seen his hair?? And he's so TALL - it's not my fault!!!! Any girl can fall for him in a second! And besides, Nat, you shouldn't even be talking! What is up with you and Sirius? Don't even pretend that you weren't disappointed when he told you that he had been out with six girls this summer, 'cause you were – we could tell." **

**It was Natalie's turn to blush. "There is NOTHING there – trust me – I just – just – never mind. It was nothing." **

**"Of course – we believe you," said Lily, trying to keep a straight face. **

**"Ooh, Lily, you just WAIT till you fall in love with Potter – then we'll see who's laughing," said Natalie heatedly. **

**"Yeah – guess you'll never laugh, 'cause that's never going to happen – not in this lifetime." **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

A/N - Sorry if any of you were waiting on this chapter, I havent really had that much time to write this week - we just finished midterms at school. I personally hate this chapter, but please read and review!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say that I don't own any of the characters or the world in which I'm writing this story, I just own the plot?

When the train reached Hogwarts, night had fallen and the students could hardly see anything as they stepped onto the Hogwarts grounds. The marauders hopped off the train at the same time as the girls did and grabbed a spacious carriage to take them all back into the school, minus Lily and Remus. They were off doing prefect duties and helping the new first year students find the way to the boats that took them to the school.

"So," started James conversationally, "who d'you reckon the Heads are gonna be this year?"

Natalie, Chelsea, and Peter all said at the same time – "Lily!"

Sirius gave all of the three a bored look and said, "People – Prongs was asking a sincere question – don't state the obvious."

Chelsea thought for a moment and then said, "Remus might make Head Boy… or Daniel Pratt, that Ravenclaw Prefect, he's pretty nice too… "

"Moony? Head boy? Naw, just being in the Marauders cancels him out from Dumbledore's list. I think it'll be Pratt," stated James skeptically.

Natalie frowned and said, "You never know – Remus isn't involved with half of your stupid pranks anymore, he's started getting really serious about his grades, and he was really kind and helpful to all of the younger students last year. Dumbledore certainly made a good choice for giving him the Gryffindor prefect badge…"

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"Now that we are all fed," started Dumbledore in his booming voice. The Great Hall quieted almost instantly as all the remaining desserts vanished from the four tables. Dumbledore proceeded to welcome all of the students, new and old, and tell everyone about rules, Quidditch tryouts, and other miscellaneous happenings at Hogwarts. Finally –

"The moment everyone has been waiting for – the new Head announcements!!!"

At the Gryffindor table, Natalie and Chelsea both clasped each of Lily's hands and were whispering encouraging words to her. "This is it, Lils – you'll definitely get it!!!"

Dumbledore paused for a moment before saying, "Our new Head Girl – from Gryffindor House - Lily Evans!!!!"

Three of the tables in the Great Hall exploded in cheers, the Gryffindor table being the loudest of them all. The Slytherin table on the far side of the hall started to groan and yell catcalls to the Gryffindor table.

At the Gryffindor table, Lily's face had broken in to a big grin at the sound of her name and everybody around her at the table were cheering and reaching over to clap her on the back and congratulate her, Chelsea and Natalie being the loudest.

Dumbledore paused for a moment, letting the students cheer, the called for silence again. "And now, the Head Boy – also from Gryffindor House - "

At the table, James, Sirius, Peter, and the majority of the table all looked at Remus, who promptly turned red.

"James Potter!!!!"

There was a stunned silence in the hall while everyone turned around to look at James, who had a horrified look on his face. After a moment, Sirius gave his usual dog-like bark of laughter and yelled loudly to Dumbledore, "Professor, are you serious?" He pulled James to a standing position, "This James Potter as Head Boy??? Is there a mistake??"

"I assure you, Mr. Black, that there is no mistake and that James Potter is indeed Head Boy this year. I do feel that he is up to the challenge," said Dumbledore. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked at James, stunned looks on their faces. After a moment, the Hall started to cheer for their new Head Boy. James gave a sheepish grin and sat back down.

The Marauders weren't the only people who were surprised at James's new title as Head Boy. Most of the people were confused about the Headmaster's choice, and many of the Slytherin's were angry and demanding Dumbledore to rethink his choice. But nobody in the Hall was as angry as Lily.

"James Potter?? POTTER?? How the hell did he get made HEAD BOY???"

"To hell if we know, Lils, but sit down and lower your voice, for heavens sake – you're making a scene!!!" said Natalie.

Dumbledore stood up and addressed the students again, "Before I dismiss the great hall, Heads please come up and see me for the password and information concerning their new dormitory."

As all the students stood up and started to exit the Great Hall. Natalie and Chelsea whispered their good luck to Lily and left her standing at the Gryffindor Table. Suddenly, out of nowhere, James appeared beside her and started to say something, but Lily turned on her heel and made her way to the staff table, James trailing behind her with a dejected look on his face.

"You wanted to see us, Professor?" she asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, yes…" Dumbledore reached into a small pocket at the side of his robes and pulled out two objects, which he handed to Lily and James. "Take good care of them. They allow you to talk to each other through them when you are patrolling the halls or any other time in which you are separated and wish to communicate with each other." In the two students' hands were two shiny, glistening, scarlet and gold, lion shaped badges. Inscribed on each badge were the letters HG and HB, for Head Girl and Head Boy, respectively. Lily and James both put them on immediately. Dumbledore continued, "The Head's Dormitory is located behind Sir Cadogan the Knight's portrait, which is located on the third floor on the way to the Divination classroom. " At this, Lily and James both groaned inwardly – Sir Cadogan was known for his horribly complicated passwords and changing it every two hours. "I hope that you will be able to set a fine example for the other students, and I hope that my choice of making you Head Boy, James, was not a bad one. You do have the power of giving out detentions and rewarding and taking away points, but if I hear from any of the other students that either of you are abusing your positions, then the consequences will be severe. The password to your dormitory is 'Biddletrigger'. Good night."

"G'night, Professor," said James.

"Thank you, Professor," said Lily.

Both of them walked silently up to their new dormitory.

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A/N - Well, that was it! I hope you liked it, even though I personally hated it. I might update sooner if I get more reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the world in which I'm writing this story, I just own the plot.

"Welcome, fair lady, good knight! Welcome to your new sleeping quarters – password??" said Sir Cadogan once James and Lily reached their dorm.

Lily stepped forward and said, "Biddletrigger."

"Quite right! Welcome!"

Lily gasped as she stepped into the Head's Dormitory. She had just entered a huge room that was at least 5 times bigger than the room that she had shared with her best friends in her previous years at Hogwarts. The room had gold walls, and the furniture was all scarlet tinted mahogany. There were two small staircases, which led to two separate bedrooms and bathrooms, one for Lily and one for James. Lily turned around to see James walk in. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to control her temper, even before he had said anything.

James had walked into the room shortly after Lily, but seemed far less impressed by its splendor. In fact, Lily didn't think that he had figured out how full of prestige his new title was, lunkhead that he was.

James looked around, then looked at Lily and said, "So, Evans…" He smiled at her in a way that he hoped wouldn't infuriate her, but –

"I'm warning you, Potter, if you ask me out one more time or – or look at me like – DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE YOU KNOW SOMETHING THAT I DON'T – or – STOP THAT – just - OK, just don't talk to me. Don't talk to me – I wont talk to you – we'll all be happy. OK?" She opened her mouth again to repeat what she had said, because it looked like James hadn't paid attention to a word she had just said, as he was turned around, facing the wall and looking around. But before she could say anything else -

James shrugged. "OK, Evans, whatever you say."

Lily was stunned. She had expected him to blow off her warning, but why had he dismissed her? It made her more furious than she already was. She stared at James angrily as he sauntered up his staircase and into his bedroom, without giving her a second glance.

Lily went to bed 10 minutes later; still standing at the same spot that James had blown her off at, feeling oddly disheartened.

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The next morning, Lily woke up covered in blankets in her new feather bed, and was puzzled to find that she wasn't in her Gryffindor girl's dorm with all of her friends. Then she remembered the night before and her feelings when James had blown her off. This morning, though, her feelings had changed from puzzlement to red-hot anger. "That arrogant little prat – how DARE he blow me off like that –?" she muttered. She sat up in her bed and stared at the gold walls. After a moment, she sighed. It was obviously gong to take a lot of work on her part to change James Potter into Head Boy worthy material. She walked into her own personalized bathroom, reached for her toothbrush, and wondered where to begin.

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In the Gryffindor 7th year boy's dormitory, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all huddled over their newest creation – with the help of James – the new and improved Marauder's Map. They had recently been trying to bewitch it to show every person and there whereabouts in Hogwarts. The boys all watched as spindly letters bloomed over the map – Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present-

Sirius looked away for a second and asked Remus (who had done most of the charming on the map itself – the other boys had mainly looked up the spells to use), "Is this supposed to show every single person in Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," said Remus absently. "But only the people you are interested in looking for. Like if you're thinking 'where is James?' the map'll show James. That way, the map won't be too crowded. Hey – look! It works!"

Sure enough, little labeled dots had appeared onto the map. "Look at that!" said Remus excitedly. "There's me… Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black in the Gryffindor boy's dormitory! Yup, it works!"

Sirius grabbed the map from Remus and thought for a moment. His eyes scanned the map. He looked at one spot for a moment and shook his head. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Remus, but in the map Prongsy boy is clambering out of the heads dorm – by himself. Hey, and Evans is still in her bathroom. Now, why would Prongs purposely head out of his dorm without waiting for Evans and hankering after her for another date? The map is definitely malfunctioning." Sirius grinned, as if his proclaimed accusation was the cleverest thing that had come out of mouth.

Remus and Peter both rolled their eyes.

"Up for some breakfast, Wormtail?" asked Remus.

"Sure!" Peter took the map back from Sirius, and murmured the words, "Mischief Managed" before handing the map to Remus, who stowed it away in his trunk. Both of them went down the stairs of the boy's dormitory, leaving Sirius in a desolate kind of silence.

Sirius stared at the door for a moment, dumbfounded. "What – the way they rolled their eyes, you'd think that I said something stupid!" He bounded down the stairs to the common room after Remus and Peter.

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Almost all of the students were in the Great Hall when James got there. When he entered, he saw Sirius's head shoot out and wave him over to a spot that they had saved for him.

James grinned and walked over to a spot that the Marauders had saved for him, attracting many stares and swoons from girls at neighboring tables.

"So, Prongs, where's Evans? Why weren't you following her this morning?"

"Huh?"

"Why weren't you following Evans this morning? You share a bloody dorm with her!"

"Oh – cuz I really don't want to fool around with asking her out this year. I mean, a guy can only want a girl so much, right? I'm over her. I've spent a good part of the last 5 years liking her, asking her out, and she still hates my guts. Maybe if she showed that she even liked me a little, then I would keep going – but she doesn't like me any more than she probably will. To her I'm still a – what was it? – oh yeah, an arrogant bullying toerag. I'm through with it – I'm getting on with life. What's the point of asking somebody out when you know – in the back of your head – that they're just gonna say no – again?"

By this time, all of the Marauders, Natalie, Chelsea, and a few other Gryffindors had turned around to hear what he had said, and were now staring at James, dumbfounded looks on their faces.

"Did I hear right? James Potter is GIVING UP on Lily?"

"James Potter is over Evans?"

"Evans is free?"

"James doesn't like Lily anymore?"

Sirius gave James a long look and said, "Are you feeling OK, Prongs?"

Remus elbowed Sirius in the stomach and mumbled, "Leave it."

James shrugged and inwardly thought – 'Goodbye, Evans'.

Everyone had something to gossip on that day –

"James is gonna stop asking Evans out!"

"Evans and Potter share a dorm!"

"Potter was made Head Boy!"

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Lily walked out of the Head's dorm and started to make her way down the stairs to grab a bite of breakfast.

"Lily?" asked two voices simultaneously.

Lily looked down, and saw that Natalie and Chelsea were standing on the stairs below her. She smiled and hurried down one more flight of stairs to meet her friends. "Hi!"

Natalie produced a stack of buttered toast in some napkins and shoved Lily towards the doors leading out of the castle and onto the grounds. Chelsea followed her.

"You guys… what's going on?"

"Oh my GOD, Lily. OH MY GOD!!!" shrilled Chelsea.

"Oh my god WHAT??" said Lily, now thoroughly puzzled and annoyed.

"You won't BELIEVE what we just heard at breakfast!"

"What?"

"James is GIVING UP ON YOU!!!!!"

"Huh?"

"POTTER IS OVER YOU, LILY – HE'S NEVER GONNA ASK YOU OUT EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!" Natalie all but screamed.

"WHAT? Where on Earth did you hear such ridiculous rumors? He asked me out just yesterday, before we got on the train!"

"We KNOW, Lils, that's why it's so surprising. Even we wouldn't believe it – but get this – we heard it from James. "

"Yeah – right."

"LILY!!!!!!!!!! He honestly said something like he can only like you so much and that since you haven't shown any signs of warming up to him, he's not gonna keep wasting his time. And also that you think that he's an arrogant bullying something-or-the-other and he's getting on with his life."

"You're kidding. You can't possibly be serious."

"They're not – I am. Hello, ladies!" came the one and only Sirius Black's voice from behind them.

"Hi, Sirius," said Natalie.

"Hey, Coleman. What's going on?"

"Trying to convince Lils that James just gave up on her."

"Oh – that."

Lily smiled. If anyone could tell her the truth about what James had actually said, it would most definitely be his partner-in-crime. "So, Sirius, is it true?"

Sirius thought for a moment and answered, "Yup."

"What?" That simple word that had come out of Sirius's mouth had turned Lily's stomach over. "He – he's really given up in me?"

"That's what we've been TRYING to tell you!" interrupted Natalie.

"W-well – uh - " Lily seemed at a loss for words, then remembered that she didn't really like James anyway, so there was no loss. "Well, that's perfectly fine with me – I don't care. Hmph. Now if you'll excuse me – I have better things to do than to argue about whether that idiot likes me or not." She stomped off and went back inside the castle.

"She likes him, " muttered Natalie to Chelsea.

"Yeah – so now what? She likes him – he's given up on her – what do we do?"

"Dunno…"

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Lily couldn't believe it. James Potter had really given up on her! She had never really given a damn about him or his feelings, and thought he was just a toy, something that would just repeat itself over and over and she would always do the same thing to it – say no. Now her toy was broken – and she had no clue why. 'Did I do something wrong to him? I never thought he would just stop asking me out… he never really seemed to care or get it, really. He would just come bouncing back to me the next day, as persistent as ever! Ugh – I'm really in the shit now…' Lily suddenly stopped, horrified at what she was thinking. 'If I didn't know myself any better, I'd say that I was starting to have feelings for him! Ha! As if! He's outta my life, seems that I'm outta his, so everything is over. I don't need to worry about THAT boy ever again.'

With a lighter mind, Lily skipped through Sir Cadogan's portrait hole and BOOM. She had crashed headlong into none other than –

"Potter?" she said, letting some concern creep into her voice. He had fallen down hard and was rubbing his head, looking dazed. "Are – are you all right?"

James looked up at Lily, surprised that she wasn't yelling at him for bumping into her. "Uh… yeah – I'm good. Sorry 'bout that – you okay?" He moved his hand from his head, revealing a big blue-black bruise on his forehead and a thin trickle of blood running down his face from a cut on his head.

Lily gasped. "I'm fine, but you aren't! Look at yourself!" She conjured a mirror out of thin air and held it up to James's face.

James winced. "Yuck."

Lily took hold of his arm, pulled him back inside the common room, and sat him down on one of the leather sofas. "Wait here – I'll be right back." She sprinted into her room and emerged seconds later with her wand and a small case. She sat down beside James on the sofa and took out a small plastic bag from her case. "Aguamenti," she mumbled. The bag filled with water. She muttered another charm – "Frezio," (A/N I know its a cheesy spell, just put up with it) and the water in the bag turned into ice. She hanged it to James and said, "Put this on the bruise. It'll feel better."

"What?"

"Just do it, James!"

"Okay! Okay…"

She siphoned the dripping blood off of James's cheek and muttered another spell, pointing her wand at the cut. James felt his skin mending and the pain vanished. He was impressed. "So… where'd you learn all of the healing spells?"

"Oh, it's nothing…" she said absentmindedly. "I'm practicing to be a Healer… I have to know these charms to pass the N.E.W.T.s that I have to take this year. "

"Why are you being so damn NICE to me?" James could have swallowed his tongue. Here he was, having a civilized conversation with the love of his life, but he just had to go and ruin it.

"Would you prefer I left you alone and stopped taking care of you?" Lily said acidly.

"NO! No, of course not! It's just - "

"That because of all the hostility I've shown you these past seven years, you've learn not to expect much from me?" Lily said, with a hint of amusement on her face.

"Well… yeah."

"Normally, I would be yelling at you, but seems you've told all of my friends that you're going to stop asking me out. I just had to see if it was true! Now that you've got that through your head – that I'm never going to say yes – it doesn't hurt to be a little bit friendly."

"Are you serious?"

"No – I'm Lily, remember? You best friend is Sirius."

"Ha. Very funny."

Lily grinned. "Yes, I'm serious."

"So… are we friends?" James held his hand out for Lily to shake.

Lily stared at James's outstretched hand, then looked up at his face, which was shining with hope.

Lily took James's hand and gave it a firm shake. "Truce?"

"Truce."

The new school year had begun.

A/N - Uhm... so there's chapter 4! I made this one a bit longer than the others to make up for Chapter 2, which was actually really short, now that i think about it. Anyways, i hope you all like it, and i'm not getting that many reviews - I NEED REVIEWS!!! Or else i wont post up chapter 5! well, not really, but PLZ REVIEW. and thank you to EVERYONE whos reviewing - i really appreciate it!!!  
luv y'all  
g.07


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the world in which I'm writing this story, I just own the plot.

"James Nathan Potter – you get back here THIS INSTANT OR I WILL – "

"Yeah, Evans? What'll you do to me?"

"UGH!!!!! You are so ANNOYING! Give me my wand back NOW!!!!!!!" Lily was chasing James all around their dormitory. He had taken her wand from her and had proceeded to brandish it in the air, threatening to throw it in the lake if Lily didn't get down on her knees and beg for it.

"Potter wants to see the lady BEG!" yelled James.

"JAMES!!!! STOP!!!!!!"

"As you wish!" James stopped dead in his tracks. Lily barreled into him with an amazing force, and ended up on top of him on the sofa. She started to wrestle him and managed to tug her wand away from him just as the door burst open. All the Marauders entered the room and spotted Lily lying on top of James. Remus's jaw dropped, Peter fainted, and Sirius stuffed his fist in his mouth to smother his laughs. He stifled it long enough to ask, "Uh… are we interrupting something?"

Lily leaped off James and shot him a nasty glare.

"WHAT??? You were the one that was on top of ME!! I didn't do anything!"

"You didn't do ANYTHING?? YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING?????????? YOU WERE THE ONE THAT STOLE MY WAND FROM ME IN THE FIRST PLACE, JAMES POTTER, AND YOU KNOW IT!!!!!!" In a matter of seconds, the laughing, smiling Lily had gone beet red and was screaming at James, her eyes blazing.

Natalie and Chelsea ran in seconds later – they had obviously been chasing after the boys – and stopped at the sight of Lily and James – the latter cowering beneath Lily's menacing glare. "What happened?" Chelsea breathlessly asked Remus, who was still staring at the two.

"Prongs apparently took Lily's wand – she was wrestling him for it and we came in right as she was lying on top of him on the couch."

"WHAT? Oh NO, Nat, we've got to stop them before Lily murders him!" With that, Chelsea jumped forward and started to rub Lily's back in soothing, circular motions, leading her out of the living room and into her own private bedroom. Lily seemed as she was about to protest, but with one last glare at James, she allowed Chelsea to lead her away to her room.

"So, Prongs…" began Sirius.

"Nothing happened!!" exclaimed James, sitting back down on the sofa, head in hands.

"Sure didn't look like 'nothing happened' – she was lying on top of you on the sofa!"

"Shit. This is all my bloody fault – we were getting along so well! I shouldn't have taken the wand from her in the first place."

Natalie walked forward and put a comforting hand on James's shoulder. "It's okay, James – I'm sure she'll understand. It wasn't your fault. I'll go talk to her now."

"Thanks," James muttered.

Natalie walked off to Lily's room, her long black hair dancing behind her.

"Coleman's pretty hot, don't ya think?" asked Sirius.

Remus stared at Sirius incredulously. "Natalie?"

"Yeah…"

"Padfoot. You have been in the same dorm as Natalie for seven years – and NOW you notice her?"

"What? Its not like she's my friend – she's Evans's friend!"

"Well, I'm not telling you to stay away from her, but just remember that if you shag her – and then cheat on her, Lily and Chelsea might just have to kill you out of spite."

"Hey, what about Daniels? What's up with you and her, Moony?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You like her – it's obvious."

"No I don't! We – we're just friends, that's all!"

"Sure. She's ALWAYS staring at you – and you know it," said James, lifting his head out of his hands.

"NO, SHE DOESN'T!" Remus stared at the wall for a second and sighed. "Okay… maybe she does."

"So what're you gonna do about it? Do you like her back?" asked Sirius.

Remus turned red and said an a quiet voice, "Yeah, I do…"

James smiled and asked, "Don't you wanna tell her??"

"No! I can't tell her!"

"Why in the world not??"

"You know – I'm a werewolf!" Remus lowered his voice. "It – it wouldn't work out!"

"Moony," started Sirius, "If Daniels really likes you, then she won't care if you're a werewolf or not. If she don't like you as you are, then she don't deserve you, mate."

"Maybe… I dunno…"

Just then, the boys heard a feeble mumble coming from Peter, who had fainted at the sight of Lily and James. Rubbing his head, he sat up, and asked confusedly, "What's going on????"

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Natalie walked into Lily's room and found her sitting on the bed, Chelsea sitting next to her with an arm draped over Lily's shoulder. "You okay, Lils?"

"Yes," said Lily in a small voice. There was a moment of silence before Lily suddenly said, "I overreacted, didn't I?"

"What?" asked Chelsea. "You think that you were too harsh on James?? Lily, you always used to yell at him like that. He's probably used to it by now. He probably knows what to expect from the queen of insults."

Lily turned red. "I – well – not – er – well, we were getting along so well – and because of this stupid fight, I – well, I kind of ruined it, didn't I?"

Chelsea jumped off of the bed and exchanged an incredulous look with Natalie. "Oh. My. God. Lily!"

"What?" asked Lily, alarmed at her friend's sudden excitement.

Natalie squealed. "You like him, don't you Lils?"

"No! No. No, of course not - "Lily's two friends glared at her. Lily quailed under their looks and quietly said, "Maybe – maybe a little?" She braced herself for the explosion that was bound to come. It did.

Natalie and Chelsea screamed and hugged Lily. They stopped screaming long enough to ask "How long??"

Lily thought for a moment. "I don't know, actually – it just happened. Like one day I thought he was a stupid loser, like always, and the next day – he changed. I saw him in a different light…" Lily trailed off, a dreamy look on her face.

"This is so exciting!!!!!!! When are you gonna tell him?" asked Chelsea.

This question snapped Lily back onto the conversation with her friends. "Never. I'm not telling him."

"WHAT??? Why not??"

"He doesn't like me anymore."

"Excuse me? Lily, don't be stupid, of course he does!"

"Then why doesn't he ask me out anymore? Why doesn't he follow me around everywhere anymore? Why doesn't he worship the ground I walk on anymore, like he used to?"

"Because he doesn't want to ruin your friendship! He's afraid that you'll get mad at him, like you always do! Like you did today!"

"Of course I wouldn't get mad at him!! I love him, for god's sake!" Lily exclaimed.

Natalie and Chelsea froze. "What did you say?" asked Natalie.

Lily's face turned redder than it already was, contrasting sharply with her hair and making her face look like a tomato with hair growing out of it. "I – nothing."

"Lily, did you just say that you loved James?"

"Yes, I did," Lily said defiantly. "I love James."

"Then why don't you TELL him?????" asked Chelsea.

"You heard me – he doesn't like me anymore. I prefer to keep our friendship the way it is, rather than jeopardize it by telling him I love him if he doesn't love me anymore."

"But he DOES!!!!!"

"No, he doesn't!"

"Yes, he does."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"You GUYS, shut UP!" shouted Natalie. "Do you hear that?"

Somebody was knocking softly at the door.

Lily jumped up and called, "Come in!!"

The door opened and James walked in, an apologetic look on his face. "Uh – Lily – I - "

Lily smiled at James and stopped him. "James, it's okay. I shouldn't have yelled at you – I'm sorry."

"Oh! Oh, no, Lily, I shouldn't have taken your wand from you… " Seeing Lily's forgiving look, a relieved smile spread across his face.

"Well, seeing that we're not needed anymore, we'll just go, shall we?" asked Chelsea. When Lily and James continued to smile at each other without answering her, she and Natalie sniffed and strode out of the room, disgruntled looks on their faces.

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The school year was turning out to be one of the best for Lily, James, and their friends. Their workloads had increased dramatically, and all of them had received lectures in their classes about how important their seventh years were to their futures. The fact that their winter break was coming up was a relief to all of them.

The teen's lives were also going well. James and Lily had developed a strong friendship, and were rarely seen without each other, whether they were attending to Head Duties or not, Sirius and Natalie were also spied flirting with each other, though not an official couple yet. Chelsea and Remus were still the strongest pair of friends in the group, and were always seen laughing with each other in the corridors and at meals. Peter… well, Peter was just Peter.

Chelsea and Natalie had both loyally kept Lily's secret, but Chelsea was starting to get fed up whenever she saw Lily and James together. She knew that they were made for each other, and had no doubts that James still had strong feelings for Lily. But how to get them together?

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"Chelsea! Hey, Chelsea! Over here!!"

Chelsea, who had just come out of the girl's dormitory, turned to the sound of the voice that had called her and came face to face with Remus. "Hi, Remus!! Thanks for coming!!!!"

"Well, you said it was important. I couldn't back off, could I?"

"No – you couldn't. C'mon, lets go somewhere a little more private."

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The two stopped in front of a tapestry of dancing trolls on the seventh floor, Remus looking confused.

"Uh… why are we here, Chels?"

"What? You don't know about the Room of Requirement? YOU, one of the Marauders, don't know what the Room of Requirement is?"

"No, but I appreciate you making me sound like a complete dumbass!"

"Sorry – hold on a second, " said Chelsea. She started to walk back and forth in front of a stretch of wall, eyes closed and lips mouthing soundless words; she was apparently in deep concentration. After she had paced three times, a door appeared out of nowhere.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Remus. "Where – what's this? What's inside it?"

Chelsea smiled mischievously. "I don't know – why don't you open it and see?"

Remus moved forward and wrenched open the door, stifling a gasp as he saw what was inside. He had just stepped into a small, cozy room. In one corner of the room was a fireplace, blazing with dancing flames. Two stuffed armchairs were settled in front of the fire, and there was a small chair next to the chairs, filled with all sorts of treats for their pleasure.

Chelsea walked into the room and smiled. She slid into one of the chairs and took a steaming mug of hot chocolate from the table, motioning for Remus to come sit in the chair across from her.

"Wicked… what is this place??" whispered Remus in awe.

Popping a few marshmallows into her mouth and into her drink, Chelsea explained, "This, my friend, is the Room of Requirement – otherwise known as the Come and Go room. We just like to call it the RoR."

"We? Who's we?"

"Oh, me, Natalie, and Lily."

"How'd you guys find out about this place??"

"Lily. She was reading 'Hogwarts, A History', for like the fiftieth time in a row, and she found out some stuff about the room. Most people just find it once when they need it, but they never see it again."

"How do you get in? James and Sirius would kill to have a place like this for Marauder meetings!"

"You just walk back and forth in front of it three times thinking of what you want – and the room appears, fitting itself to your every pleasure!"

"So it's basically whatever you require?"

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "Hence the name – the Room of Requirement… could you BE any more stupid?"

"Sorry – now, what are we here for?"

Chelsea leaned forward. "James still likes Lily, right?"

Remus sighed. "I think so – but he's afraid to ask her out again – cuz he's already gotten so far as to be friends with her. I don't think he wants to ruin it for him and for her. "

Chelsea's mouth fell open. That was exactly what Lily had said!! "Tell him to ask her out again!!! Can't one of you guys persuade him to?"

"Maybe, but – " he stopped and gave Chelsea a suspicious look. "Why are you asking, Chels?"

Chelsea waved her wand at the door, and Remus heard it lock. "Remus – promise you won't tell anyone what I'm telling you. Please?"

"Of course not, Chelsea! What kind of friend do you think I am? I promise to keep your secret a secret."

"Lily likes – no, scratch that – loves James."

Remus's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. She told me and Natalie that she was in love with James."

"When?!"

"When you guys caught her on top of James in the Head's Dorm."

"Are you kidding me? Why doesn't she say anything??"

"Basically the same reason that James doesn't. She's afraid that it'll kill the relationship as it is!"

"Then why don't YOU convince her to ask James out?"

"Remus, you know FULL WELL that Lily won't listen to a thing that me or Natalie say!"

"Fine, fine, I'll see what I can do… thanks for trusting me with this – I'll be sure to keep it a secret."

"Why wouldn't I trust you? You're my best friend!" Her eyes traveled all over his face, lingering on his lips – she wanted to kiss him so bad… she forced herself to tear her eyes away and focused them on his eyes…

…only to find them staring at her lips as longingly as she had been just a few seconds ago.

Which could only mean one thing, right?

Why was he leaning forward?

Why was SHE leaning forward?

His lips looked so soft…

She only mutely registered that she was kissing her best friend when their lips crashed together…

She let out a sigh against his lips and moved into his chair, pressing her body closer to his. He wrapped her arms around her and heard her moan in pleasure. He pulled his lips away from her and looked at her, bracing himself for a reaction.

Chelsea looked stunned for a moment, then put a hand on her lip, silently mouthing 'Wow,'

Remus looked around and spotted a door that hadn't been there before. Clearing his throat, he said, "What's that?"

Chelsea stood up and walked over to the door, pulling Remus with her. She opened the door and smiled contentedly. She dragged Remus outside onto a balcony overlooking a beautiful sunset and the Forbidden Forest. "Told you the room gives you anything you want."

Remus laughed and pulled Chelsea in for another heartwarming kiss. After a while, Chelsea looked out into the night sky and said, "Oh, look at that!! It's a full moon! Isn't it beautiful?"

Remus's look of happiness slid of his face, replaced with a look of horror. His face went white, and he suddenly let go of Chelsea.

"What's wrong, Remus?"

"I have to go."

"Huh? Why?"

"Listen, Chelsea, I love you, but we can't be together. I gotta go bye." He dashed out the door and bolted into the hall, leaving Chelsea heartbroken in the Room of Requirement.

A/N – okay fine, you win… I only got one review for chapter 5, but hey, I just felt like posting. And I'm gonna do a double post right now, so never mind this chapter being short – Chapter 7 will be up almost instantly after this. Happy reading!!! 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lily and Natalie both noticed something different about Chelsea the next morning at breakfast.

Lily tentatively asked her, "Chels? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Chelsea muttered. She cast a glance at the door and immediately looked down at her breakfast, staring at her sausage as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

Both Lily and Natalie looked curiously at the door and saw James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter walking into the Great Hall. Natalie sighed, "Marauder troubles," and went back to her food, but Lily stared at the boys. All of them except for Peter seemed to have been hurt or injured in the middle of the night; James had a cut on his cheek, Sirius had a bruise on his arm, and Remus was limping, with a small bruise on his forehead. Lily sighed. Marauder troubles. She knew that it would have to be Remus that was troubling Chelsea – they were the closest of the group and she normally didn't avoid him. She saw Remus glance at Chelsea sadly and sit down with the rest of the Marauders. She moved back to next to her friend and quietly asked, "Chelsea, what's happened? Where were you yesterday?"

"I don't wanna talk about it, okay?" Chelsea got up and walked out of the Great Hall, leaving her uneaten breakfast sitting at the table.

Lily walked over to the Marauders and squeezed herself in between James and Remus. "Hi, Remus."

Remus eyed Lily skeptically. She didn't come to their spot of the table to talk to him a lot; normally it was James. Suspecting this had something to do with Chelsea, he said, "Hey, Lily… what's up?"

"What's wrong with Chels?"

"I-I – er…"

"Listen, I understand if you don't want to tell me, but can you make her feel better? She's feeling really down for some reason."

"Yeah – yeah, I'll try…"

Lily got up and left, and James asked, "What happened, Moony?"

"Uh – nothing. Seriously. Nothing happened. I'm fine."

"Yeah, yeah, cut the crap and tell what's going on," said Sirius impatiently.

"Well – me – me and Chelsea – uh – wekissedlastnight." He said the last part in a hurry.

"Wait – what? Say that last bit again." James said.

"We – er – kissed?"

"Congratulations, Moony! You kissed a girl!!" exclaimed Sirius.

"Wait, you kissed Chelsea??? I thought you liked Lily!!" said Peter confusedly.

"No, you idiot, I like Chelsea. JAMES likes Lily," said Remus, rolling his eyes.

"Wait, then why is Chelsea mad at you?" asked James. "She seriously doesn't like you back?"

"No, of course she likes me back! I told her we couldn't be together."

"What? That relationship lasted shorter than my shortest relationship!! And that was six hours!!"

"Shut up, Sirius. You aren't helping," said James. "Why can't you be together?"

"You know… 'furry little problem'…"

"She gave up on you because you're a WEREWOLF????"

"Keep your voice down!!!!!! No, she doesn't know that I'm a werewolf, - but she won't like me when she finds out!!"

"That's bullshit, Moony. Tell her the truth. She deserves to know the truth, and she deserves to hear it from you."

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Remus left the Great Hall a little bit early and went to the Gryffindor common room to find Chelsea sitting in a sofa next to the fire, sobbing into a pillow, not noticing that Remus had just walked in. He resisted the urge to take her in his arms and sat down next to her and quietly asked, "Chels?"

Chelsea lifted her tearstained face from the pillow and stared at Remus sadly. She didn't say anything, so Remus said, "I'm sorry."

She still stared at him, looking deep into his eyes, as if searching for a hidden meaning as to why she and the man she loved couldn't be together. She let one word escape her lips as she asked, "Why?"

"I – Chelsea, I'm not NORMAL. You can't be happy with me! I – you deserve something better than me."

Chelsea asked, "What do you mean, you're not NORMAL? Why aren't you normal? What makes you DIFFERENT?" Her normally sparkling blue eyes had turned icy. "You're just like any other boy in the school! And why can't I be happy with you? What makes you think that you're not good enough for me??" Chelsea started to cry again.

"Chels… I – I'm a werewolf. You know how I told you that my grandma is really sick and I have to visit her once every month? I don't really go to her. I transform and roam around in the Forbidden Forest as a werewolf until dawn."

"That's where you went last night? You looked at the full moon and went to the forest to transform?"

"Yeah. See why you can't be with me, Chels? I'm dangerous. If I don't take precautions, I could hurt you, or attack you."

"But – but, even in the werewolf's body, you would still recognize me, right? You would know not to attack me?"

"That's not true. I lose all of my human instinct as a werewolf. I see a human – I attack. I can't stop myself."

Chelsea and Remus stayed silent for a few minutes, and then Chelsea said, "Remus, I don't care. I want to be with you, and being a werewolf won't change that. I love you, as you are, werewolf or not."

"But… but –"

"No buts. I want to be with you, Remus!"

On an impulse, Remus decided to be lenient. After all, who wouldn't want to love somebody who loved them back? "Chels…" Remus put his arms around Chelsea and kissed her cheek. "I need you to understand that I can't be with you on full moon nights."

"Yeeeeesssss…"

"And that I am potentially dangerous on full moons."

"Fiiiinnnnnnneeeee…"

"And that we can give dating a try."

Chelsea squealed and threw her arms around Remus. She pushed her lips onto his and kissed him soundly. They sat there on the sofa, kissing, until Lily and Natalie walked in, followed by James, Sirius, and Peter. "Busy, Moony?" said James, clearing his throat.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, WOULD YOU PLEASE PAY ATTENTION?!?!?! And Mr. Potter – get Black down this INSTANT."

"Sorry, Professor McGonagall, won't happen again!!" said James and Sirius, who had been throwing small spells at each other in the back of the classroom. Unfortunately, she noticed when Sirius drifted out of his chair lazily and was suspended by his ankle in midair. Sure enough, Sirius fell in a heap on top of his desk. "Ow."

The bell rang, and all of the students hurried out of Professor McGonagall's classroom. Winter vacation had finally started. James and the other Marauders were some of the first people to leave the room. James spotted Lily coming behind them and pushed the other boys in front of him, whimpering, "Hide me!" He wasn't fast enough.

"Oh, FINE example to set for the other students, dangling Sirius in midair for everyone to see!" Lily reprimanded.

"What, Lily, it was just a joke! It was practically break anyways! And I was paying attention, anyways – I just LOOKED preoccupied with other things. I seriously was paying attention."

"Then what was McGonagall talking about at the end of class?"

"Uh… something about a –" Remus poked James in the back and hissed "Christmas Ball."

James smiled and said "The Christmas ball. Yeah."

"Oh." Lily looked stunned for a moment. "You were paying attention, then."

"See what you get for underestimating me? HA!" smirked James.

Lily huffed and stalked off with Natalie and Chelsea.

"A ball?!" asked James incredulously. "Why?"

"Dunno – Dumbledore's let the holidays get to him?" said Remus.

"Well, do we hafta go?" asked James. He was well known for not being fond of balls – he always went with a different girl, but by the end of the night, he always just sat in a corner by himself, punch-drunk and staring at Lily.

Sirius smiled. "We don't – but you do. Serves you right for becoming Head Boy. Says in the rules that the Head's attendance is mandatory."

James smirked. "And since when do I pay attention to rules?"

"Since now – when McGonagall said that you would be stripped of your position if you don't show up." Said Remus.

"So? I don't give a damn – being Head Boy is stupid, anyways," said James.

"Really?" asked Remus. "You would be happy if you were sent back to our dorm and weren't sleeping just a few feet away from Evans?"

"What? No! Dammit."

"Sorry, mate – HORRIBLE way to spend Christmas night, but we'll tell you everything that you missed the next morning!" said Sirius sympathetically, but he had a trace of a smirk on his face.

"I can't ditch," said Remus glumly. "I expect that Chelsea'll want me to take her, right?"

James still looked down, but then he perked up and asked, "The rules don't happen to say that the Head Boy and Head Girl have to go together, do they?" He was obviously trying to hide extreme excitement at the prospect of going to the ball with Lily.

"No, sorry, mate. Obviously people who drafted these stupid rules couldn't save single guys the embarrassment… but you both do have to take the floor for the first dance of the night, if that makes you feel any better," said Remus. "Hey, Padfoot, what about Ashley?" Sirius's latest fling had been with another Gryffindor seventh year, but he was already getting bored of her.

"What about her?" Sirius asked in a bored tone. In his mind, he had been thinking about Natalie. She and Ashley had been friends, but once Natalie had found Sirius and Ashley snogging in an empty classroom, her friendship with the girl had decreased rapidly, not to mention she was giving Sirius the cold shoulder as well.

"Aren't you gonna take her? Or is she not willing enough to get into bed with you?" asked Remus, grinning.

"No. I was thinking of dumping her anyways – she's boring," said Sirius nonchalantly, looking at a spot behind James's left ear. Not dropping his gaze, he said, "Not to mention she has the I.Q. of dirt."

Looking bemused, James said, "Since when do you care if a girl has brains?"

"Since now, okay?" Sirius barked.

Remus followed Sirius's gaze, and sighed. He walked up to Sirius and asked, "So, when are you planning to ask Coleman?"

That got Sirius's attention. "What? What do you mean? Natalie? I'm not asking her! No! I – I don't know what you're talking about!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Yeah – I would believe you if I didn't know that you were a really bad liar. Ask her! She might say yes."

"I dunno, man – I've been hinting at it for ages, but she never seems to take the bait! And ever since Ashley, she hasn't talked to me!"

"Sirius – you never give up at anything. Especially not a girl. C'mon. Ask her. She'll accept. There's no way she wouldn't."

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"Never. I will NEVER say yes to that prat of a ladies man. Ever." For the past half an hour, Natalie had been boring Lily and Chelsea with how if he asked her to the ball, she wouldn't say yes. "Not after that thing he pulled with Ashley. Never ever. NEVER. "

"OKAY, Nat, we GET it already."

"Good. Cuz I will NEV-"

"WE GET IT, NAT!"

"Fine… whatever. What about you and James, Lily?"

"Oh, I don't know, Nat. I don't really think that anything's happening… "

"He'll ask you! I swear, he will!!!!" called Chelsea from across Lily's room.

"Yeah, right…"

"He will, Lily! Don't give up hope yet! There's still three weeks – anything can happen!!!!!!"

Anything could happen… so time progressed.

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Lily stood outside of Sir Cadogan's portrait impatiently, waiting for James so they could do their daily rounds. She saw a glimpse of his black hair around the corner before it disappeared in a flash. Sighing, she started to talk loudly to herself. "WHERE is that idiot; he was SUPPOSED to be here TEN MINUTES AGO… I don't want to keep WAITING here. And of COURSE if he was here, then he wouldn't be HIDING under that stupid INVISIBILITY CLOAK, because then I wouldn't be able to SEE HIM, WOULD I?????"

"I get it already!!!!!" James stepped out from behind Lily, tucking his cloak into his regular school uniform. "Jeez, Evans, can't take a joke, can you? There's nobody in the stupid hallways anyway!"

"Oh, shut up, James. C'mon, let's go." Lily tugged on James's hand and started walking down the corridor.

A while after the two started patrolling the corridors, James heard some sort of strangled moan coming from one of the darker corridors. "Did you hear that, Lily?"

"What?"

"Shh. Listen." After a moment, the same sort of moan sounded, only this time louder. "There it is again!"

"Oh, I wonder what that is…" Lily walked forward and the sound came again, this time at it's loudest.

James thrust his chest out and strutted in front of Lily, saying in a loud voice, "Don't worry, Lily, I'll protect you!"

Lily rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, "As if." She swiftly sidestepped James, wand held aloft and at the ready. "Puhleeze, Potter. Move." She strode forward into the darkness. James looked disgruntled and went after her. After a few seconds, he heard Lily scoff and say, "Alice. Frank. Get a room." James stepped into the light to see his friend Frank Longbottom and his girlfriend, Alice Stevens, hurry out of the corridor. Lily stepped out a minute later, an amused look on her face. "What was that about 'protecting me' Potter?"

"Oh, shut up."

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"So, Lily, will you go to the ball with me?" James was standing in front of his mirror in the Head's Dorm, practicing his "speech" to Lily. "She has to say yes… no way she can refuse." Tucking a perfectly sculpted white lily into his back pocket (A/N: Do robes have front/back pockets?) and running his hands through his hair, he walked out of the dorm to find Lily.

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"Lily! Hey, LILY!"

Lily turned around to see Daniel Pratt, a Ravenclaw 7th year, hurrying towards her. "Hey, Danny!"

"Could – could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure – bye Alice, I'll see you later." Lily's friend walked away and she followed Daniel to a more deserted part of the busy, student filled corridor. "What's up, Dan?"

"I was wondering… er… do you already have a date to the Christmas ball?"

"Date to the Christmas…?" Lily trailed off, remembering that she indeed didn't have a date to the ball. "Uh… no, not yet. Why?"

"Well, I- I was kinda wondering, um, ifuwoudgowime?"

"Sorry?"

"Would you… uh… go with me? As-as my date?"

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James was looking for Lily when he saw another Gryffindor walking his way in the corridor. "Hey, Alice – have you seen Lily anywhere?"

"Lily? Yeah, I was just walking with her – she's in that corridor, she was talking to Daniel just a minute ago."

"Thanks, Alice – Tell Frank I said hello."

"Sure, James." James started to walk away. "Oh, and James?"

James turned around. "Yeah?"

"I hope Lily says yes."

James looked stunned for a moment, then beamed and said, "Thanks, Alice."

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James spotted Lily walking away in the other direction as he crossed into the main corridor, and hurried to catch up to her. "Lily!"

Lily turned around and smiled at the sight of James rushing up to her. "Yes, James?"

James remembered what he had practiced. Short, straight, and to the point. No dawdling. Just ask her straight up. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Hey. I know you probably don't want me to, but… " He pulled out the lily from his pocket, "… will you go to the Christmas ball with me?"

Lily looked stunned for a moment, and her eyes filled up with tears.

"Lily? Are you all right?"

"James… oh, James, I'm so sorry, I've just said yes to Daniel!" With that, Lily let out a strangled sob, turned around, and ran into another hallway, leaving James standing alone.

Just then, James heard a yell from behind him. He whirled around and came face to face with Peter and Sirius.

"We found you, Prongs!" exclaimed Peter. "Moony says he might be able to bewitch the map to – what's wrong?"

Sirius eyed the white flower in James's hand, and then the heartbroken look on James's face. It didn't take him long to put two and two together and say sympathetically, "She said no, huh?"

James's look of sadness turned to confusion, and then to one of pure anger. "Fuck off. Just fuck off and leave me alone. "

**A/N – hope you enjoyed!!!! R&R PLEEEZE!!!!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I am BEYOND sorry for the long wait, I've been just HORRIBLE with updating lately. And I cant even give you a good long chapter worth the wait… for me, this chapter was a lot of fun to write, but it doesn't really have that much meaning to the story. I swear that the next chapter will be good and definitely worth the wait. Enjoy!!!**

Chapter 8

The day of the ball approached. Sirius was sullen and moody, for he had finally asked Natalie, and she said no, that she was going with someone else. Who was Sirius to be surprised? She was a beautiful, smart, popular girl; she was bound to have found someone to take her. Surprisingly, James was also being distant about whom he was taking, and whenever questioned, he came up with a vague answer, "Oh, just some random chick…." He was especially distant when talking to Sirius, but Sirius assumed it to be some effect of the "heartbreaking rejection" that James had gone through, and never gave it a second thought.

Lily had become quiet and withdrawn, and rarely talked to James unless it was absolutely necessary. She had resorted to a schedule of classes, meals, and at any other time, she would lock herself up in her room and sulk. Chelsea and Remus seemed to be the only happy couple during Christmas.

All the Marauders, Chelsea, and Natalie had decided to stay with James and Lily in the Head's Dormitory on the night of Christmas Eve. Lily was woken up by the shrill screams of Natalie and Chelsea, who were fussing over the three enormous piles of presents at the foot of Lily's bed.

"Look, Lily! Presents! Come open them with us!"

"Uggghhh, why can't I sleep through today?"

"Oh, come on, Lily, don't sulk over the ball anymore. You're going with Daniel; what's done is done, you can't change it! Maybe you'll have better luck nest time. Now come and open your presents – I see one for you from James!" exclaimed Chelsea.

"What?! Give it here!"

"Ooh, NOW someone's excited. Here ya go." Natalie tossed a badly wrapped gift over to Lily. Lily ripped open the paper and let out a gasp. "Oh, my goodness." In her hand was a beautiful gold chain. On the chain was a small, delicate, porcelain lily, sculpted to perfection. "It's beautiful!"

Chelsea and Natalie climbed up onto Lily's bed too oooh and aaah at the lovely necklace. Lily carefully took it out of its box and clasped it around her neck, silently admiring its simple, elegant design.

Lily jumped off her bed and started to open the rest of her presents. Through the present opening, Lily couldn't keep her mind off of James. Sure, she got a great haul, including a gift card to buy dress robes from Madam Malkin's (courtesy of Natalie), a new silver wand holder (courtesy of Chelsea), and a number of books and quills from various friends across the school. She noted with a bit of disdain that Daniel had also gotten her a beautiful piece of jewelry, a thin, pure gold bracelet with bright green emerald stones glittering off of it. In the back of her mind, she knew that the bracelet was just as beautiful as the necklace, and that Daniel had probably put a lot of thought into it, but she couldn't help but like James's present better, because, well, she actually _liked_ James. Not that Daniel was bad, or anything, but… he wasn't _James_.

As Lily opened the rest of her various presents, Chelsea emitted a squeal and held up a pair of glittering diamond earrings. Lily smiled knowingly, as Remus had come to her the previous week and questioned her about what Chelsea might like.

Natalie grinned when she saw Chelsea's earrings and said, "you should definitely wear them to the ball tonight."

Chelsea smiled and then said, "well, Lily got her prezzy from James, I got one from Remus – what about your special someone??"

"Oh, please, I don't have a special someone."

"Ahem… Sirius!"

Halfheartedly, Natalie dug through her presents and with a look of surprise, pulled out two packages – both addressed "To: Natalie From: Sirius." She looked at them for a second and said with a smirk, "Whoa, he actually did get me something." She reached for the first package – a long, hard box. Ripping off the paper, she opened the box slowly, as if she expected something to jump out at her. After glimpsing what was inside, she gasped. She turned the box around and showed her friends a pair of small, shiny, ruby earrings, and a sparkling string of them to wear around her neck. It came with three matching bracelets. Lily and Chelsea stared, openmouthed, at the jewelry and put inquiring eyes on Natalie, who shrugged and said, "maybe he does care about me…" She grabbed the next package and tore it open, revealing – a package of condoms.

Chelsea sniggered and said, "Or maybe not." Spotting the murderous look on Natalie's face, she quieted almost instantly.

"This… this is so _like_ Sirius!!" Natalie seethed. "He thinks that just because he got me something nice, that I'm just gonna hop into bed with him like _that_! I cannot _believe_ he would stoop so _low_!!!"

Lily smiled consolingly, "I'm sure it was just a joke, Nat – he doesn't really mean it!!!"

"Yes, he does," said Chelsea matter-of-factly. Seeing Lily's glare, she continued with a scoff, "Oh, _please_ Lily, you _know_ it's not a joke. You both know that, actually, this is the thing that _only_ a boy like Sirius would do! Face it, no other boy in their right _mind_ would send a box of condoms to Natalie, of all people. Did you hear, that last year, he sent Emilie Sahl a vibrator??"

Natalie's annoyed look was immediately replaced by one of hilarity. "He _didn't_."

Chelsea went on earnestly, "He _did!_ She was _so_ mad at him – she actually threw it out of the window in the North Tower, and sent him a cursed tie that would strangle him the instant he put it on. He still has the marks on his neck to prove it!"

By now, Lily and Natalie were both roaring with laughter, and Chelsea had dissolved into giggles.

"Mmmm…" Lily let out a contented sight and, "we had better get down to breakfast. We're already really late!"

Natalie groaned and heaved herself off of Lily's bed. "I'm going back to the common room – I'm not hungry…"

Smirking, Lily asked, "Since when are you not hungry on Christmas??"

"Oh, hardy frickin har, Lily, you're so funny. Since Black got me a box of condoms – I have completely lost my appetite." Natalie snapped. Digging through her presents, she snatched a long, red, silk dressing gown that she had received, and slipped into it, tying the strings over her short baby doll nightdress. "I think I'm gonna go to bed and stay up there till tonight… Bring me up something from lunch, will ya?"

Chelsea's eye's narrowed and she said, "What do you mean, stay in bed? We always have a snowball fight with the boys, remember?"

"Snowball fight? With Black? I don't think so."

Chelsea rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but lily quickly interrupted her and said, "Fine, stay in bed. Chels and me probably won't be back, why don't you sleep here? We'll bring you something from the kitchens at lunch, okay?"

Natalie smiled gratefully and fell onto the bed again. "Thanks, Lily, you're the best."

Lily and Chelsea both slipped into dressing gowns identical to Natalie's – Chelsea's a bright pink color and Lily's a deep plum color. Waving goodbye to Natalie, they both stepped over the various bits and pieces of paper strewn around the red carpet and out into the Head's Dorm.

Glancing at an ornate clock on the wall, Lily gasped and said, "Oh gosh, we really are late – we'll be lucky if there's anything left!!" Both the girls turned and started to walk towards the door, but stopped again as they heard a loud burst of laughter behind them. They turned to see James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter clambering out of James's room, laughing uproariously about something that Sirius had just said.

Spotting the girls, James grinned and said, "Why don't we ask the girls if its true, huh Sirius?"

With a smug look on his face, Sirius said, "Be my guest. Go ahead."

James turned on Lily and asked, "Well, did he really send Natalie condoms?? Did she get them?"

Lily and Chelsea smirked and Chelsea said, pointing at Lily's room, "Well, Sirius, she's right in there – why don't you go and find out?"

Sirius grinned and strutted over to the room, pulled the door open, and disappeared. After a shrill scream from Natalie, a loud yell from Sirius, some curse words that would have made anyone's hair stand on end, and a slapping noise, Sirius tumbled out of the room, a red handprint on his face.

James burst into laughter and said, "Guess she didn't take it all too well, did she?"

"No shit, she didn't take it very well, don't you see the slap mark??" snapped Sirius. As an afterthought, he added, "She looked hot, though, all red and disheveled, in that short little dress…"

Lily rolled her eyes and beckoned to Chelsea to come get some breakfast with her.

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After 4 hours of laughter, fun, and a furious snowball fight, Chelsea and Lily tumbled into the Heads Dorm holding a bowl of random food that they took into Lily's room. They found Chelsea sitting upright on Lily's bed, twirling the necklace Sirius had given her around her fingers. When she saw the food, she held her arms out and said, "You guys are the best – I love you all…" she grabbed a cake out of the bowl and stuffed it into her mouth. "Mmmm, food…"

Lily chuckled and grabbed a chocolate éclair out of the bowl. She bit off the top and pulled out a glob of the cream with her finger. She scrutinized her icing covered finger and stuck it in her mouth without further thought.

"Okay," Lily clapped excitedly. "Who am I working on first?"

Natalie groaned, "Lemme eat first… do Chels."

Lily looked at Chelsea inquiringly, and Chelsea shrugged and said, "Sure – why not? My dress is here in the closet anyways."

"Kay," Lily conjured a thick, fluffy white towel out of thin air and handed it to Chelsea. "Go. Shower. Use the shampoo and no conditioner. Okay?"

"Why no conditioner?"

"Because I said so and cuz it'll ruin your hair. Now go."

"Jeez, fine," Chelsea sauntered off to the bathroom, and in a minute, Natalie and Lily both heard the sound of hot water blasting into the shower.

Lily hopped onto the bed and looked and Natalie, who was stuffing her face with a turkey sandwich. "So, Nat, you never mentioned who you were going to the ball with – care to share???"

A look of discomfort passed across Natalie's face, and her eyes darted around the room before she quickly said, "I told you, its nobody! I barely even know the guy! I was so intent on getting Sirius pissed that I just said yes to the first dude that asked me!"

Lily looked surprised at her friend's sudden outburst, but decided not to say anything. There was an awkward silence, but the roar of the shower quickly stopped and Chelsea emerged from the bathroom in an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts, her long, blond hair wet and tangled. "Now what?" she asked.

Lily pushed Chelsea into the bathroom again and sat her down in front of her huge vanity mirror. "So, your dress is what… black, right?"

"Yup!"

"Hmmm…" Lily scrutinized Chelsea's face carefully before her own face lit up. "I know exactly what to do with you." Lily whipped her wand out, muttered a spell, and in an instant, Chelsea's hair was dry. Grabbing a rubber band, she quickly took hold of Chelsea's hair and tied it atop her head in a messy bun. "Let's get started."

After a half an hour, Lily grinned and said, "Perfect."

Chelsea, who had been turned away from the mirror, smiled and started to turn around, but a bark from Lily made her stop. "Don't turn, Chelsea, I still have to do your hair!!!"

Chelsea frowned, "My hair is so boring, so straight and plain – what can you do with that?"

Lily smirked and bent down into another drawer, pulling out a package of huge muggle rollers.

Chelsea asked nervously, "What are those?"

"These, my friend, will change your hair from ordinary to extraordinary."

In another 15 minutes, Lily smiled a satisfied smile and with a whirl, turned Chelsea's stool.

When she saw herself, Chelsea gasped. Her bright blue eyes sparkled under lids that were lined with heavy black eyeliner. There was dark blue eyeliner around her eyes, with a hint of glitter that made them shine. The foundation that she had on added a touch of much needed color to her face, and was accentuated with two high spots of blush that made her normally round cheeks seem long and elegant. Her lips shined with a deep, seductive red gloss. He stick straight, staticky, blond hair had been transformed completely. Big, glossy ringlets of shiny hair framed her face and bounced cheerfully when she moved. "Oh, thank you so much, Lily!!! It's amazing!"

Lily smiled and walked out of her bathroom. "Nat – shower – go!"

Chelsea stepped out behind Lily, and Natalie grinned. "You look amazing, Chelsea. You are gonna knock Remus off his feet! Oh, and I don't need a shower – I already took one while you guys were out today." She walked into the bathroom, Lily trailing behind her.

"Can we do something cute with my hair? It's so boring," said Natalie. "Can we like, make it straight or something?"

Lily smiled and said, "Sure!"

In another 30 minutes, Natalie was ready. Lily had used plain black mascara, eyeliner, and eye shadow for a smoky effect on Natalie's eyes. Natalie's cheeks were rosy, and deep scarlet lipstick stood out on her lips. Lily had straightened out Natalie's raven black hair and extended it so that it reached the middle of Natalie's back. Then, she left Natalie's bangs hanging out and pulled the rest of her hair into a sleek ponytail. Natalie smiled appreciatively and said to herself, "Sirius is gonna flip out… okay, Chelsea!" She called Chelsea into the bathroom, who gasped when she saw Natalie's shiny updo. "Time to work on Lilykins here – you do her make up, and I'll do her hair." Chelsea nodded agreeably and they set to work.

In 25 minutes, Lily was batting her sparkling eyelashes at herself, which were paired with a dull green eye shadow that that made Lily's eyes look like emeralds. Her cheeks were pink, and a layer of clear gloss was all that she needed for her naturally red lips. Lily's hair fell around her face in smooth waves, and pulled away from the front of her face with an exquisite gold clip.

Chelsea and Natalie gathered around the remnants of food that was scattered all over Lily's bed, while Lily checked the time and said, "The guys said they would meet us at 7:00 in the Gryffindor common room… why don't we go back to the girls dormitories to get changed – we can all go see what Alice and the other girls are wearing instead of staying here."

"Good idea, Lils… lets go!!" All three girls gathered their belongings from Lily's closet and set off towards the common room.

**A/N: So… what did you think? I love reviews and I welcome any suggestions that readers may have to contribute to my story! **

**For people who read my High School Musical fanfiction Icebox, I am working on a sequel, but it might be a while before I post it. **

**One of my reviewers has been very insistent in demanding a sequel for Déjà Vu, my Harry Potter oneshot. I'm not writing a sequel yet, but I would be happy to if I got enough requests for it – so if you're a fan of fluffy Ron/Hermione fanfiction, I would appreciate reviews for that fanfic too!!! **

**Love you all,**

**Gryffindork.2007**


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm back on track with this fic, I've been HORRIBLE with updates, and i'm SO sorry. I'm currently in mourning, as the Harry Potter tale has finally ended... but I'll try to post more often. Promise. Thanx so much to cryingcloud15, my amazing beta - couldnt have done this without you, Sharmila!

"Do you think they're done yet?" James was standing with Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Daniel in front of the stairs leading to the girl's dormitories, dressed in impeccable black dress robes, and bouncing on the balls of his feet impatiently. "What the hell makes girls take so long to get ready?"

Sirius chuckled and said, "Mate, who are you even waiting for?"

James immediately stopped bouncing and mumbled, "Nobody… random girl."

Sirius grinned, but the grin suddenly slid off his face as he heard a girl squeal "Sirius!!!!!" Turning around slowly, he saw his date running towards him and pasted a false smile on his face.

"Hey, Lauren…" Lauren Ferguson was a petite Gryffindor 7th year, with long, honey blond hair, and a blinding white smile. She was dressed in a pink, frilly outfit, which was entirely too short and much too low cut. She quickly bounced over to Sirius and threw her thin arms around him.

James smirked at Sirius and turned around to hear Remus intake a sharp breath.

Chelsea was coming down the stairs in a long black strapless dress that hugged her body in a way that made her seem a foot taller than she normally was. Her face glowed and her sapphire colored eyes stood out brightly under blue eye shadow. Her hair framed her face in long, glossy curls. Dangling around her neck was a sapphire necklace, and the glittering diamond bobs that Remus had given her were in her ears. She stepped forward and hugged Remus tightly.

James grinned at his friends loving embrace, and had to stifle a gasp as he turned back to the stairs – Lily was coming down.

Lily was dressed in a sleek emerald green one-shoulder dress, which accentuated her eyes. Her red hair cascaded down her back in waves, and was held out of her face by an elegant gold clip. Her eyes met James's and she smiled tentatively, putting a hand to her neck. James looked at her arm but all he saw were three glittering gold bracelets with emeralds embedded in them. His eyes flicked to her neck and he grinned when he saw the necklace that he had given her on her neck. He was about to step forward and take Lily's hand when she stepped past him and took Daniel's instead, softly saying, "Thank you so much for the bracelets, Danny – they were beautiful…"

Sirius had by now pried himself out of Lauren's grip and stepped forward to the stairs, yelling, "Oy, Natalie! You coming or what?"

"Wait a minute, for god's sake!!!" Natalie's shrill voice echoed in the stairway, and Sirius scowled as he turned back to Lauren. A minute later, a nudge from James told him that Natalie was on her way down.

Natalie was in a red halter dress that reached just above her knees, which hugged all of her curves seductively. Her normally wavy hair was now gathered into a stick-straight high ponytail. Multiple strings of rubies that Sirius had given her glittered off her neck, ears, and arms. She looked like a seductress, but her hazel eyes were as cold as ice as she walked past Sirius, straight into the awaiting arms of… James?!?!

James smiled half-heartedly as he took Natalie's arm, missing the looks of shock and disbelief on both Sirius and Lily's faces. Natalie, however, caught Lily's eye, and silently tried to apologize, but Lily blinked, her face unreadable, and looked away quickly.

Lily's eyes blurred and she shut them tightly, trying to squeeze out what she had just seen. When she opened them, Natalie was laughing at something James had said, and it took all her willpower not to burst into tears at that very moment.

She turned to Daniel, took his hand, and said, voice trembling slightly, "Come on, Danny. Let's go." She tugged his hand gently and pulled him out of the common room, the others not far behind.

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After dinner was over, Dumbledore stood and the students' voices soon turned into a low rumble, finally turning into the occasional whisper, while the students waited for their headmaster to speak.

"Now that we are all fed and watered, I would like to ask our Heads, Miss Lily Evans and Mr. James Potter, to take the floor for the first dance of the night."

From opposite sides of the room, the two individuals slowly made their way up to each other, stopping precisely in the middle of the floor.

James took one of Lily's small hands in his, and her petite waist in the other, thinking constantly about what a fool he was. Normally, in the given circumstances, James would be tripping over himself trying to impress his "lady love," but at the moment, the last thing he wanted to be doing was dancing with someone who probably hated his guts, evident by the fact that Lily was avoiding his gaze and her normally bright, happy eyes, had turned dark and dangerous.

"Lily-" he started, but a slow waltz song cut him off and forced him to focus on his footwork. James tried to get Lily to face him, but it was clear by the way her eyes were focused on her feet that she had no intention of looking up anytime soon. Both being excellent dancers, the lack of eye contact didn't hinder their flawless waltz, but the tension between them was apparent to everyone.

As the song ended and the other students started to tumble out onto the floor, James tried once more to capture Lily's attention, but his efforts were in vain – she spared him one disdainful look before stalking off to Daniel.

James slowly walked over to Natalie, who was talking to another girl in their year, and said with a small smile on his face, "As your date, I guess I'm going to have to ask you to dance sooner or later… may I?"

Natalie took James's hand in hers and once the two were on the dance floor, she was filled with remorse… it was all her fault that Lily was mad at James, after all. "James… I am so, so, sorry about this…"

James looked genuinely puzzled as he said, "Sorry for what?"

"If you must know, I only asked you because… because I wanted to make Sirius jealous."

James laughed morosely and said softly, "I knew there was an ulterior motive… and I can't say I can find flaws in your plan either, look at him!" Sure enough, Sirius was sitting by the punch bowl, glowering at James, and not bothering to look away when James caught his eye. James winced and turned his head back to face Natalie, and was caught by surprise as her lips landed on his.

It all happened in a matter of seconds – Natalie pulled back with a look of horror on her face; Lily let go of Daniel and ran out of the hall, unable to cover a sob that escaped her throat; and Sirius got up from his seat so violently that the giant punch bowl that he had been sitting next to was in danger of tipping over.

James looked at his date with a look of shock on his face and exclaimed, "What was that for?!?"

Natalie seemed incapable of speaking for a moment and said in a mortified whisper, "I-I meant to kiss your cheek… oh _no_, Lily's going to _kill_ me, what have I _done_?" Wringing her hands worriedly, she ran out of the hall to search for her friend.

James barely had time to dwell on Natalie's words – _Why would Lily kill her? _– before Sirius had thrown a punch so hard into his nose that he felt dizzy for a minute before he realized what had happened.

"Why'd you kiss her, man? What is your _problem_? What the _hell_ is your _problem_?" Sirius was breathing heavily, teeth bared like an angry dog, much like they were when he was in Animagus form. He raised his arm, ready to punch James again, when James hastily scrambled up and held up a hand to shield his face from any more damage.

"She asked me, mate. No way would I ask her, of course not. I wouldn't do that to you, I swear." Tentatively, James lowered his hand when he thought it was safe to do so.

Sirius blinked and his shoulders slumped. "She asked you?" When James shrugged regretfully, he pulled out his wand and flicked it at James's nose, muttering " _Episkey_. Sorry about that, mate."

James nodded his thanks and wiped some of the blood from his face with a sleeve of his navy blue robes, and sunk into a chair.

Sirius was halfway across the Great Hall when he realized that James wasn't following him. He ran back to where James was sitting and asked him incredulously, "Well, aren't you coming?"

"What's the point? The damage has already been done…"

"So you're not going after her?"

"No… are you?"

"Hell yes. This is the difference between you and me, Jamesie-poo – I don't give up." Tsk-ing at James in a mock pitying way, Sirius turned around and sprinted out of the Hall.

A voice from behind James said, "Sirius has never really been one for balls, has he?" (A/N: No pun intended)

James turned to see Chelsea and Remus behind him and smiled sadly. "Not really."

Chelsea let go of Remus and softly hugged James, whispering into his ear, "Don't worry James – Lily's a sensible girl, she'll come through!"

James put his head in his hands and mumbled sadly, "Hopefully…"

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Thoughts flooded Lily's mind as she ran out into the snowy Hogwarts courtyards, her heaving sobs cutting through the still and silent night air. Shivering, she sat down on one of the frozen benches and wiped the tears off of her face. _How could Natalie have done this to me?_ Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the clacking of heels close by.

"Shit, shit, shi- OUCH!" Natalie skidded to a halt clumsily on the frozen cobblestones and reached down to pull a broken high heel off of her foot. "Lily, I can explain -"

"Go away."

"But-"

"I said, go away."

"Listen, -"

"I don't want to listen to you."

"Lily, -"

"Get -" Lily stood. "Get OUT!! What is your _problem_, Natalie?! Why'd you say yes to him? You _knew_ how I felt about him! You _knew_ I loved him!!"

Natalie bit her lip and said quietly, "I asked him, Lily."

Lily seemed incapable of speech for a moment, opening and closing her mouth in disbelief. Her lips curled in a sneer and she said, "Funny how I remember that you said 'Oh, I said yes to the first boy who asked me!' I should have known that you would do something like this. You never even gave a thought to how I might feel, did you? You are such a _bitch_, Natalie; everything you do is for you, and only for you, you don't even care who you hurt in the process, do you?" So caught up in her furious rant, Lily didn't notice the snapping of twigs in the bush behind her.

Natalie opened her mouth as if she were about to defend her actions, and then said in defeat, "I know. I was a total… I don't even know what. I'm sorry." Tears started to fall down her face as she said, "I don't know what I was even thinking, Lily. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't even think about how it would affect anyone… he was just standing there, and he told me that you had said no to him, and… and I just thought that it would drive Sirius crazy… so I asked him…" With this, Natalie sank down onto a cold, moss-covered rock and started to cry.

Most of Lily's anger at her friend vanished on the spot, and she instantly regretted losing her temper at her friend – she had never gotten this angry with her friends before; James was normally the target of her fury. Natalie was normally the emotionally strongest of their little trio, and it alarmed Lily a little bit to see her in the miserable state that she was in, over a boy who probably wasn't worth a bit of her tears anyway. Before she could comfort her friend, though, a person sprang out of the bushes and wrapped his arms around the crying girl, murmuring things into her ear.

Natalie turned in shock when she felt a pair of strong arms envelop her, but relaxed when Sirius whispered in her ear, "You can't say your plan didn't work, Coleman… you drive me absolutely _nuts_, sometimes…"

"Do I?" Natalie asked skeptically.

"More than anyone else I know." With that, Sirius's lips landed on hers, and it was only after a minute or two that Natalie pulled away apologetically and turned to face Lily, who was standing there rather uncomfortably.

"Sorry, Lily…"

Lily smiled and said softly, "Don't be." She walked out of the small clearing and heard a muffled giggle from Natalie as she made her way back to the castle.

As she entered the castle, she ran into James, who was apparently looking for his best mate, and started to apologize profusely at the sight of her. "Lily – I didn't mean to kiss her – she did it, I swear – I don't like her that way… wait, where's Natalie? Where's Sirius?"

"Where do you _think_ they are?" Lily rolled her eyes and jerked her head in the direction of the courtyards.

"I – what? Oh. OH." James grinned and said, "Well, that was quite fast, considering just a moment ago, she was _my_ date…" The sound of a waltz came from the Great Hall, being played for the last few dancers on the floor, as it was very late into the night.

James gave Lily a lopsided grin and said, "Er… may I have the pleasure of escorting this lovely lady to her bedchambers tonight?"

Lily smiled and held out her arm; James, however, had different ideas. He looped an arm around her waist and took her other hand in his. He dipped her once and then spun her outwards, catching her and picking her up in his arms; one supporting her back, one under her knees.

Lily shrieked delightedly. "James, what are you doing?!"

James just laughed.

If one had bothered to see what the commotion in the hallways was that night, they would have seen a red haired beauty in the arms of a raven haired teenager, laughing as they headed towards their rooms.

They would have seen a sandy-haired boy and a blond girl as they walked to their common room, her head on his shoulder, hand in hand.

They would have seen a black haired girl and a black haired boy kissing passionately as they crept into the Room of Requirement.

Despite the number of mishaps that night, all had turned out well.

A/N: I know, the ending sucks, stick with me, I promise the next chapter will be good. I'll try to make it as good as possible. Read and Review!!!!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: AAAAARRGH school sucks. So here's my last treat to all my readers before the work really starts piling up, I'm a freshman in high school so I actually have to pay attention this year! That's new.

Anyways, I was so glad when the seventh Harry Potter book came out, I can really get into Snape's character for this fic now. I hope you enjoy it, and love, hugs, and kisses to my amazing beyond words beta cryingcloud15/QuiltedHeart – I could NOT have done it without you. This one's for you, darling :)

"Mr. Black, if I see you do that to Miss Coleman again, I will give you detention for a solid month. Now come inside and SIT."

Sirius started and snatched his hand away from Natalie's upper thigh, draping his arm around her shoulders instead. Ignoring the giggles from the rest of the girls in the rest of the class, they walked to the back of the classroom, where Lily, Chelsea, and the rest of the Marauders were sitting.

"So?" asked Chelsea as Natalie took a seat, looking at Sirius, and then back to Natalie.

"So… what?" Natalie asked, feigning ignorance to the meaning of the question that Chelsea asked her every morning.

"You know…" Chelsea looked back at Sirius meaningfully.

Natalie scoffed and said, "Just because I'm going out with him doesn't make me want to put out immediately, Chels, I'm not a total slut… though we have gotten pretty close," she added in an undertone, winking.

James, who had hear the majority of the girls' conversation, laughed and clapped his best mate on the back and said with a mock shaking of his head, "Still no action, tsk tsk, I'm ashamed of you, Sirius!"

Sirius grunted and said, "She wants me to 'respect her body', whatever that means. But we've gotten close, dude, cant hurt to wait, right?"

Smirking, James said, "Y'know what I think? Somebody's _whipped_."

Before Sirius could retort, Professor McGonagall had silenced the class and started to speak.

"Today, we will start to conjure more complex animals out of thin air – most of you have already mastered birds and mice by now; we'll be conjuring rabbits today. Now, the incantation is - " The rest of her words were drowned out by a loud screech and a burst of flame.

The class gasped and caught a glimpse of a magnificent, red-gold phoenix on McGonagall's desk before it took of, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. James and Sirius knew the bird to be Fawkes, the headmaster's phoenix, as they had been called up to his office many times previously.

Professor McGonagall unsealed the piece of parchment and read it swiftly, her beady eyes flicking across the words. Her face suddenly drained of all color and she lifted a shaking hand, pointing it at the door. "Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, the headmaster would like to see you in his office immediately. He enjoys Fizzing Whizbees."

"Professor?" Lily looked inquiringly at Professor McGonagall.

"In front of the gargoyles on the second floor. Now go. Quickly."

Lily still looked confused when James took her arm and dragged her out into the hallway, muttering into her ear, "It's the password into his office, Lily." He strode into the hall and started to walk briskly towards the staircases, a nervous look on his pale face.

This was not the James Potter that Lily knew; never had she seen him so tense before. She jogged up to him and grabbed his hand, wheeling him around to face her, "James, what's wrong? What's going on?"

James slowed down for Lily's sake, and started to speak. "Fawkes is only sent during an emergency."

"Who's Fawkes?"

"Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix. Listen to me, Lily. There's only one reason why McGonagall would have reacted like that to the note that Dumbledore sent her. And it's not a good reason, either." Noticing Lily's puzzled look, he plowed on. "Murder, Lily. Or death. McGonagall had to break the news to Sirius when his little sister died; I was there."

"Little sister?"

"Yep." James took a deep breath, and continued, "Sirius will probably kill me if he finds out that I told you this, but yeah, his little sister. She – well, she was born a Squib. Didn't make any difference to Sirius, of course, but it nearly killed his family that they could have a child that couldn't perform magic. She was the sweetest girl you could've known. Sirius loved her more than anything."

"What – what happened to her?"

James's face darkened. "Killed. No, not killed, murdered. By her own mother. Regina – that was her name – she accidentally set something off with her mother's wand - and Mrs. Black went ballistic, accidentally fired off a killing spell in her anger. I don't think she had realized what she had done at the moment, but she sure as hell didn't feel any remorse. She tried to pass off that Regina had killed herself. Bitch."

Lily's hands were over her mouth in shock and revulsion. "But – but why?"

"Lily, the Blacks are bad people. The whole, stinking lot of them. Except for Sirius, of course. He was the only one in Gryffindor. His parents are huge supporters of You-Know-Who. So is Regulus, his younger brother. Sirius hates the whole family, he ran away last summer, after Regina died."

"So where does he stay now? How did he even manage to stay with his parents?"

"He's got his own little place now, his uncle left him a bit of gold, but while he was there… you should've seen his room. Plastered in scarlet and gold – he's obsessed with Muggle motorbikes, and he's got loads of random pictures of Muggle girls in swimsuits tacked everywhere – best part is, he put a Permanent Sticking Charm onto the back of everything, so even now that he's gone, his parents can't take a single thing down. Right now he stays at my place a lot – my parents love him. Treat him just like a second son. He's like the brother I never had."

Lily was becoming increasingly nervous about their summons to the Headmaster's office. "So you think that Dumbledore called us over there because-"

"Of a death? I don't know, but brace yourself, because I know it's not good."

"Well, we're Head Girl and Boy! Couldn't it possibly be because they… they caught Natalie and Sirius going at it in a corridor and they want us to put a stop to it or something?"

James smiled ruefully and said, "Never thought I'd see the day where Lily Evans made a joke, and a remarkably crude one at that, too. Fizzing Whizbees."

Lily blanched as they walked up the slowly rising staircase. _It wasn't meant to be a joke… _

The moment that they entered Dumbledore's circular office, they knew that this visit was not going to be a happy one. The normal twinkle that resided in their head's eyes had vanished, and his voice was grave as he spoke.

"Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, I have just received some terrible news. Yesterday evening, Mark and Rose Evans were were found dead at 8375 Moffet Court Road, in Surrey, which I believe is your address, is it not, Miss Evans?"

Lily nodded dumbly and sank to her knees, shoulders shaking. Her sobs came in gasps, and James immediately kneeled beside her, his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace, a look of horror on his face.

After a moment of silence, James pulled Lily up and asked Professor Dumbledore shakily, "Why did you call me here too, sir?"

Dumbledore sighed and beckoned for Lily and James to sit down in the sofa that was placed at the side of the room. James sat with difficulty, Lily was clutching to his arm extremely tightly, and her face was buried in his neck.

"There is no denying it, Voldemort has returned." Noticing James flinch, he said serenely, "Call him Voldemort, James, as fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes, sir."

"As I was saying, Voldemort has returned and is quickly instilling fear into the Ministry, by murdering innocent people. He is gaining more power, and more followers on the way. The Auror department got a wake up call and set Ministry officials on his tail, but it seems that Voldemort has apparently learned a thing or two about throwing people off. As you know, James, both of your parents are talented Aurors, and your father is the head of the Auror department. A frantic call from Eileen Prince, a witch in the area, alerted them that Voldemort was in the vicinity. Unable to contact the rest of the department, they themselves Apparated to Lily's residence to find the front door open and the Dark Mark hovering in the air. They managed a close escape, but were not able to hinder Voldemort in anyway."

"Were they the ones who alerted you, sir?"

"I met with them personally when I received the news. They seemed out of their minds with worry and grief; evidently, you had told them of your friendship with the victim's daughter." A moment of silence passed, and Dumbledore continued. "Though unwise, Voldemort makes Muggle-borns his first target. I'm sorry, Miss Evans."

Lily pulled away from James and wiped her face, trying to regain some control and make some sense of what had happened. After a second, she said, "Snape."

Dumbledore and James both turned to look at Lily. "Severus Snape?" said Dumbledore.

"Yes, Severus Snape. He lives all the way down the street from me, in Spinner's End, but he knows where I live, we were good friends before we came to Hogwarts. He could've… no, what am I saying, he wouldn't do that to me…" Fresh tears started to roll down Lily's face.

"You live near Snivellus? That slimy, idiotic git- oh, sorry Professor."

Disregarding James's choice of words, Dumbledore said calmly, "Mr. Snape has been residing in Hogwarts ever since the term started, I advise you not to linger on this matter, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter. Now, I am excusing you from classes for the next week, Miss Evans. I will request that Miss Daniels and Miss Coleman bring you your work every evening. I'd like to see both of you here this Saturday afternoon, during lunch."

"Yes, Professor."

The two walked out of the room and down the spiraling staircase, wondering how things could get any worse.

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James knocked softly at Lily's door later that evening, holding a steaming mug of tea. Hearing a strangled, "Come in," he pushed open the door and made his way inside.

Lily's room, he noticed, wasn't much different than his, although there were many noticeable feminine touches to it, like the fresh flowers on her nightstand, and the makeup collection on her bureau.

Lily herself was hunched over on the side of her bed, tear streaks lining her face. She seemed to be scrutinizing something that was lying on her lap.

James hurried over to her side, setting down the tea and wrapping her in his arms, causing her to start crying into his shoulder again, though not as stormily as she had been in the afternoon. He glanced at her lap and saw a picture of what appeared to be her family.

"Lily, Petunia, and Rose, huh?"

Sniffling, Lily nodded and said softly, "Yeah… Daddy used to call us his three flower girls."

They sat in silence before James spoke hesitantly, "Lily, did you say that you lived near Snape?"

"Yes, he lives in Spinner's End, which is quite close to my place, actually. I don't think he could've told, though…"

"Lily, do you _know_ Snape??? I bet that it-"

"James, it _wasn't_."

"How do you know?" he challenged.

"Listen. Me and Severus used to be friends, and I-I don't think that he would have sold me and my family out like that, no matter what your low opinion of him is."

"You were _friends_ with that bas-"

"James, _don't_! You knew we were friends, you saw me with him that first day on the Hogwarts Express! I don't know why you hate him so much, but _he did not do this_."

"Okay. Lily. If you're such great pals with Snivel-Severus, then why don't you talk with him anymore? In 5 th year he called you a Mudblood in front of everyone, including me!"

Lily's firm attitude seemed to wilt a little bit. "I don't know why he did it, James. Even before he did that, he started to hang out with people like Lestrange, Mulciber, Sirius's cousin, Bellatrix, people who think it's funny to torture innocent little first years. I told him to stop it, but he got angry, so I guess he was just talking it out on me when he called me a Mudblood. That was the last straw for me, I haven't really talked to him since, even though god knows he's tried to apologize several times. I don't believe he would so something like that to me."

James sat back down on the bed, sighing. "Snape hangs out with idiots like Lestrange and Bella because he does what they do, and he probably enjoys it as well – why couldn't he have given your family away? Maybe he's not as good as you want him to -" James stopped abruptly as a realization hit him like a ton of bricks to the stomach. "You fancy him, don't you?"

Lily's face turned red as she said angrily, "No! James, Snape knew how much my family meant to me, you're speaking as if he gave it away, like it was some sort of joke! He had respect for me, and I-" A loud screech cut her off as her owl, Athena, flew in through the window, depositing a letter on to her bed. She snatched it up and ripped it open. Her vision became blurred as her eyes filled with tears while she read the short note. She threw the parchment onto the floor and started to cry weakly, sinking back down into her bed.

James reached down and didn't have to read it to know that it was bad news. He skimmed over words like " _freak_", "_disowned_", and "_destroyed_ _the_ _family_ ", and looked down to the signature – "_Petunia_." The words "_Love_, _Tuney_", had been scratched out so viciously that there were small rips in the paper where it was written.

James sat down next to Lily and muttered into her ear, "Lily, don't pay attention to her, she's a stupid bitch…" he didn't get much farther, though, because Lily had risen again with a furious look in her eyes.

"She is NOT a bitch, James."

"Wha-?"

"What the hell gives you the right to call my sister a bitch to my face, huh? I love my sister very much, and you have the nerve to malign her when she hasn't done anything?"

"Hasn- Hasn't DONE anything? Did you SEE the letter that she just sent you, Lily? She HATES you!"

"She's just in shock, that's all! She doesn't hate me, I kno-"

James stood up, a sad, angry look in his eyes. "FINE, Lily. Believe in your own, sorry little dream. Your sister loves you. Snape is good, he wouldn't have sold you out. One day you're going to have to face reality, and it's going to hurt a lot more then than it would now."

With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving an angry and saddened Lily in his wake.

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Lily spent the next few days huddled inside her room, dwelling on James's last words to her, slowly coming to terms with the harsh turn her life had taken. Words of sympathy from her friends went unheeded, and schoolwork piled up on a corner of her desk. Natalie and Chelsea soon stopped coming by when it was clear that Lily would not open up to them about what was bothering her.

James went to classes on his normal schedule, though nobody could deny that he had become much more subdued then he normally was, and refrained from making the jokes in class that he was so well known and liked for.

After three days of brooding in her room, Lily accepted the fact that she could not go for much longer without food, and it was with this thought in mind that she ventured out into the main room of the Head's Dorm, her wand lit and stomach grumbling. Slowly, she made her way across the room, avoiding the cluttered mess that James and his friends made when they were around. All of a sudden, she bumped into an invisible barrier.

The first thing that came to Lily's mind was an invisible food machine, because as soon as she hit whatever she had, a shower of cakes, pastries, and various other sweets dropped out onto the floor from nowhere. A second later, though, the thought was extinguished as her fellow head yanked off his invisibility cloak, half a cake stuffed into his mouth and a sheepish look on his face. Hastily gulping down what was in his mouth, James muttered, "Sorry."

For the first time after Dumbledore had given Lily her sad news, Lily's face broke into a smile and she gave a small giggle, stooping down alongside James to pick up some of the fallen items.

Looking intensely relieved, James waved his wand at the lamps in the room, filling the room with light. "I – er – reckon there's a bit much for me here," Scrutinizing Lily properly in the light, his eyes widened and he said, "Blimey, Lily, no offense but you look like a zombie! You should eat something!"

"Which is what I was about to do when I bumped into you," Lily said, with a hint of a smile still etched on her face.

James yawned and flopped down onto a sofa, grabbing another cake and throwing his invisibility cloak. The dressing gown that he had haphazardly thrown on came loose, and a slight pink tinge appeared on Lily's cheeks as she caught a glimpse of the tanned, toned chest underneath it. She tore her eyes away and sat down beside James, picking up a pastry in the process.

After a moment, James sat up and asked tentatively, "So – so how are you?"

Lily couldn't think of a question that was more loaded or harder to answer than the one James had just asked her. Sighing heavily, she said, "I don't know. I've been thinking about – about what you said the other day - "

"Lily, that was totally uncalled for. I shouldn't have called your sister a bitch, and if you trust Snape enough, then - "

"James, no, you were right. Petunia's never supported my being a witch, ever. I always thought that maybe she would come through, but… I guess not. Its time I learned that she won't change." A solitary tear rolled down her cheek. "I can't believe that they're gone; they seemed so close yesterday, now they're just… gone."

James slid over to Lily and put an arm around her shoulder. He didn't know much about how to comfort girls, but for now, this seemed like the safest thing to do. Rubbing her back in circles, he said softly, "Hang in there, Lily. This is what Sirius went through when Regina died. Just – well, sympathy only gets you so far, Lily. People give you the benefit of the doubt, of being saddened by a loss for only so long. Then life goes on. You can't let this kill you inside. You _have_ to move on. Go to classes. Eat your meals. Hang out with friends. I know that it feels like a crime to live while the ones who were so close to can't, that you can smile, that you can laugh, while they're gone, but… after a bit, you'll think about your parents, and… and it won't hurt so badly. You can get through this, Lily, I know you can."

Lily smiled sadly and said, "I just wonder sometimes… if this whole thing is my fault. That whether it all depends on the fact that I'm a witch. If I hadn't gotten the letter when I was eleven…"

"Lily, don't take the blame for this! V-Voldemort's attacked hundreds of innocent people before, and not all of them are Muggleborns either. His mind is messed up, Lily. He underestimates the power of people like you, his mind is screwed up. Don't let yourself believe that you did this, Lily, please. Look at you – You're the smartest witch in the whole year, you can pull off the most complicated spells without a hitch, you're kind, you're beautiful, everyone who knows you can't help but instantly like you, any guy would die to love you, and your friends are the luckiest people in the world. Don't let your parent's deaths kill you as well, Lily."

Lily stared incredulously at James and said shakily, "You think – you think that I'm beautiful?"

James's eyes were dark with passion and a hint of poorly hidden lust. "I always have, Lily, since the day we met."

"You – you would die to love me?"

"Anything to love you, Lily. Anything for you."

Lily's next words came out in a trembling whisper, her final, unanswered question quivering on the tip of her tongue. "Do you… do you think you're lucky?"

"I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

As James's lips landed on Lily's, warmth flooded Lily's body, from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. She moaned softly as James ran his tongue gently over her bottom lip, moving closer to him, basking in the warmth that he gave off, giving him permission to explore every part of her. She slipped her slender fingers under his dressing gown and smiled against his lips as she realized for the second time that night that James was shirtless. She ran her fingers up and down the hard muscles that she knew only a lifetime of Quidditch could have created, triggering a soft groan from James, who pulled her closer so that her chest was pressed up against his.

The two broke apart only when they were in dire need of air, breathing heavily and cheeks flushed. Lily leaned into James and smiled at the expression of shock and bewilderment on his face.

Running a hand through Lily's hair, James sat up and asked her, "Lily?"

"Mhmm?"

"Will you go out with me?"

Stifling a snort, Lily grinned up at James and said, "Okay."

Trying and failing miserably to hide the grin that threatened to take over his face, James said, "Really?"

Lily smiled and rose from the sofa, grabbed a cake, and pecked James softly on the lips before walking back to her room. As she closed the door, she couldn't hold back a laugh; she was sure that she had heard a familiar sounding whoop of joy and triumph, coming from the boy that she had finally learned to love.

A/N: Quite long, don't you think? I went on a road trip this summer and had a lot of time to write. I think this one turned out all right, but the end sucked.

So! The kiss! Whadja think? Please R/R, I really want feedback, especially on this chapter. Hope you enjoyed.

Love from,  
gryffindork.2007


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